Honor and Pride
by MasterMeister999
Summary: Who were they? Those two Japanese kids that Dexter met and fought in "Last but not Beast?" They had no names but were given totally unique appearances. I have decided to name them Shichi (Japanese for seven) and Sora (Japanese for sky) respectively. I had to write something about these two as they are probably my favorites out of the entire cast.


Dexter's Laboratory

Honor and Pride

"Good morning, ladies and gentleman," the Japanese news anchor spoke. "Reconstruction is progressing at a stellar pace following the epic battle between the foreign giant robot and the once sealed monster Badaxtra that ultimately resulted in the latter's obliteration. When asked for any comments on how the family of four that controlled said robot were able to overcome nearly impossible odds, there was an insistence of confusion and denial."

On the television, a certain red-haired bespectacled boy who was in truth a foreign exchange student whined, "Where am I? Who are you people? How come I didn't save the world from a giant monster?"

His parents, however, were too busy admiring each other's rather dazzling apparel as they made out. "Honey, you look great!"

When she was asked for any comments, the happy-go-lucky blonde and pigtailed older sister had this to say, "Both the origins of the giant robot and the methods used to destroy the giant monster are strictly confidential."

Interrupting the interview was a different glasses wearing boy who matched the older sister's size, spouting nonsense over if whether or not the older sister will go out with him.

The anchorman resumed, "Today is a day where we must be grateful for our western neighbors' valiance in the face of overwhelming adversity, and we must be inspired by their utter selflessness in what could have been our darkest hour. We now move on to...," but then the TV was turned off. The viewer had seen enough and had more pressing matters to attend to.

With a heavy sigh, the boy watching the news stood up and made his way outdoors. This boy was sporting a white and red shirt with the lucky number seven imprinted on it, a pair of white and blue vertically striped pants, and had just slipped on some white shoes. Part of his hair covered up his eye, but he had no difficulty seeing.

His destination was his best friend's house, and while travelling there, he could see the devastation from a mile away. Past his cool and confident exterior, he cursed himself. I can't believe we just ran like that, he thought. I can't believe that we would just tuck our tails in between our legs and run away from something that was our own fault to begin with.

He soon arrived at the doorstep of his best friend's residence and rang the doorbell. Here's hoping I'm not an outcast, he continued to think to himself. It all started with a simple and foolish contest in one-upmanship. He should've reacted quicker when those missiles from that kid's robot were about to fire at Mt. Fuji. It was our own fault, he thought, and we deserve to be kicked out.

The door open revealing a middle aged blue haired woman. Instead of scorn, surprisingly, the boy was met with a casual greeting. "Oh, hello, Shichi," the woman said warmly.

Shichi returned the greeting courteously, "Hey, Mrs. S. Is Sora home? I'm guessing he's grounded if he is."

The woman shook her head and said, "No, he's fine. It's just that he's been cooped up in his room working on lord knows what all day. He's not in trouble."

Shichi then expressed his remorse. It's the first thing that he felt needed to be done before entering. "Ma'am, I'm sorry. We were being so stupid and…"

"I forgive you," she interrupted, placing a compassionate hand on Shichi's shoulder. "In fact, Sora is taking this harder than you are."

Shichi didn't know what to say. How could anyone forgive the two of us after releasing a sealed kaiju and refusing to take responsibility for it? There was a brief silence before Shichi requested permission to enter. Sora's mother nodded and held open the door for him.

Shichi could hear the winding, grinding, and occasional rumbling of a machine coming from downstairs, letting him know that his friend was preoccupied with something. Regardless of that, he needed to speak to him on something important. He proceeded down a flight of stairs and found himself halted by another door. On the door was a number pad on it strangely and Shichi punched in a few number before this door opened unveiling a secret elevator of all things.

He stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button that would take him to the bottom floor. Several seconds passed until Shichi arrived what turned out an enormous hanger bay with all sorts of vehicles stocked. Everything was all a cover up, as truth would have it that these two individuals who were about to speak to each other were also renowned boy geniuses.

Shichi called out to his best friend Sora, whom he could fine tuning what appeared to be a fighter jet. "Yo, Sora, it's me!"

Sora came climbing out from underneath the jet covered in grease and sweat. Besides the grease and sweat, he had appeared as a young boy a little smaller than Shichi wearing an extravagant cyan pilot suit. He had short spiked our teal hair and was also wearing an expression suggesting that he was not in the happiest of moods.

Sora called back to his friend, "Shichi?! I'm really busy, can't this wait?!"

Shichi answered back with the upmost honesty, "No. We need to talk." He could hear Sora cursing behind his teeth as he made his way down a smaller elevator onto the same level as Sora. He continued to act as nonchalant as possible for the conversation they were about have, "S'up, bro?"

"Nothin' much, just doin' some maintenance -7. How's everything with you?"

Shichi replied, "Everything's all good. Listen I wanted to chat with you about something."

He was sternly interrupted by Sora, "I know why you're here and I don't want to hear it."

Shichi refused to slight away from this as it was completely necessary, "Well, too bad, you got to."

Sora moved back to his jet and opened up a panel, and then began to fiddle with a few wires. His friends could tell that he was trying his best to avoid any sort of confrontation. He questioned, "You're here to talk to me about that foreign exchange student and that fight we had at school before Badaxtra showed up, right?"

"Yep," Shichi replied.

Sora sighed and took on a much more irritated tone, "I already told you that I don't want to talk about it."

Shichi asserted himself, "One way or another, man, I'm getting through to you. I'm not here to shame you or anything. I'm here to try and get you to…"

Sora suddenly snapped back, "To do what?! Come to terms with the fact that we caused a global incident?! Trust me, I think I feel bad enough already, thank you very much!"

Shichi tried his best to calm him down, "Buddy, chill. I know that this sounds like payback, but…"

Sora interrupted him again "It _is_ payback, I know it!"

Shichi knew that his best friend was just as guilt stricken as he was, but not this much. He calmly retraced his steps, "Like you said, this has got nothing to do with Badaxtra, and he's gone now."

Sora was silent.

He resumed, "Look, we both screwed up big time, but do you see anyone brandishing torches and pitchforks looking to put our heads on pikes? No. The point I'm trying to say is that we need to pay our dues to that kid."

"He has no recollection of what happened," Sora reminded him.

"I know, but regardless of all that we need to turn ourselves around. If we want to keep our integrity as boy geniuses, then we need to take after this kid."

Sora remained silent still and he turned around and hunched over onto his jet fighter. His best friend was right, they could not run away anymore. This was more than just a matter of children becoming adults in times of pressure, it was also a matter of both honor and pride. Honor needed to be upheld and personal pride needed to be swept aside.

There was a rough respite that lasted for at least two minutes before Sora decided to divulge a certain secret to Shichi. "I wish I were has level-headed and confident as you are, Shichi. I'm always letting my emotions get the better of me. I'm always looking out to be more victorious than anyone else that I meet. I always rub it in other people's faces that I'm an ace pilot."

Shichi confirmed, "Yeah, ya' do. You're always so competitive, not just against others, but yourself, too."

"Did I ever tell you that I had an ancestor who took part in the battle of Midway?"

"We're Japanese, Sora. I'm sure a lot of us do."

"This ancestor of mine, he was one of best. Smart, skilled, efficient, treated both his companions and subordinates like family, the works. They called him Ten-no-Washi, or Heaven's Eagle. He didn't fight to outright eliminate his enemies, he fought to protect the people that he loved."

Shichi did not dare to intrude on Sora's moment of reflection.

"Every day he would pray not just for the people he cared about, but also for those that were declared his enemies. He was courageous, kind, and faithful. He would pray that both his comrades would come home safe and that his foes would forgive him for his transgressions."

Suddenly, Sora's tone shifted from reflective to wrathful, "So how shameful is it…how shameful is it that he would unceremoniously parish in the comfort of his own home with his betrothed? How reprehensible is it that he would burn in a hellfire that would claim hundreds of thousands?! How sickening is it that…"

Noticing that Sora was going off the deep end, Shichi sprang into action to calm his friend down. He turned his friend around and with a mighty smack punched him in the face, and Sora fell down onto all fours. Shichi shouted, "STOP! Nothing more needs to be said!"

There was yet another tense break as Shichi struggled to get Sora to come to his senses. Shichi took one knee and picked up his friend's upper body. He could see that Sora was in hot tears not by the blow of the punch, but by the shock of the past. "Nothing can be done about that," Shichi spoke. "Yes, it was unfathomably horrific, but the only thing we can do now is learn from it and move on."

Shichi continued to speak, "Let me ask you something. Why do you think I sport these all-American colors? The reason is because if there is one thing that I love about those people, it's that they have the gift of transcending themselves. Those people do have a bloody lineage, yes, but they are more than that blessed with the ability to remove themselves from their past lives and come to the present. They have no fear of the future and its possibilities.

He kept on, "It is true that there will always be those will do nothing but demonstrate their power to stroke their ego, but did you see that kid do any of that? No! He didn't fight for fame, he fought because innocent people's lives were in danger! All it takes is one person make a difference, no matter how small it is, and if that difference is more for the betterment of mankind, then surely there must be a ray of hope."

Sora could no nothing but weep silently. He was more than just some kid with an inferiority complex. He was a proud Japanese child who was extraordinary in the field of robotics, they both were. What is in the past can never be change, it is a sad but true reality. Sora wept until he saw that Shichi's hand was offered to him.

"Stand up, Sora," Shichi commanded. "It's time for the clouds of anger to part and for the skies to become clear and happy again. It's time for the rain to wash away the sins of the past. It's time for the sun to shine for the future."

And with those inspiring words, Sora took Shichi's hand and slowly stood up. What followed was a tender embrace. It was an embrace that practically symbolized the Japanese traditional value of loyalty to one's peers. From the various warriors of the Warring States period, to the famed canine Hachiko, these two seemingly nameless characters were bound to each other.

Sora then made a proposition, "Hey, listen, we're gonna be out of school for a while, right?"

Shichi nodded.

"Why don't we take a little vacation then…to the United States? Let's go there and see the sights, see the people."

Shichi agreed, "Sounds cool, but we gotta be back by sundown."

"Great! Just gimme a few more minutes and I'll be ready for takeoff."

On that day, the sun would rise twice. They were going together to see him, the one that they were eternally indebted to. They were going to tell him of his unforgettable deeds and they were going to tell him that they were there, and that they are waiting for him.


End file.
